Lord: My Shop Connects to Modern Times

Frostfire City, Lord's Castle, deep within a bunker.

Carl Booth walked down the steps one by one.

Reaching the bottom, Karl opened the familiar, heavy iron gate at the end of the road, swallowed hard, and braced himself to step inside.

The room remained as dark and damp as ever, with a fireplace nearby emitting a rather unwelcoming flame.

At this moment, a figure was already standing in the center of the room.

He was the only messenger who escaped.

The other person was still wearing that tattered, unmarked armor, but the red light in his eyes had dimmed considerably, like embers about to burn out.

He hung his head, in a posture Karl had never seen before… exhausted? Or some kind of injury?

Karl bowed slightly, silently stepped forward, and respectfully addressed the other party:

"Your Excellency, the Envoy."

The other person slightly raised their eyes, their red eyes flashing.

"You've arrived. You should know about what happened in Grayrock Town, right?"

"Your subordinates are fully aware of this."

Karl lowered his head even further. As a count, he showed no authority whatsoever in front of the other party.

The other party didn't seem to have any intention of taking their anger out on him. He stretched his body, and faint black energy emerged from the gaps in his armor.

"Further words are useless. The defenses of Grayrock Town far exceed our expectations. This is beyond our ability to handle, and it is very likely related to the secrets of the Lynn Cole family itself."

He paused, his voice becoming even lower.

"Now we should report this matter to the religious community."

Carl nodded, walked slowly forward to the familiar spot, and pressed his hand against the wall three times.

The next moment, the familiar secret passage appeared before the two of them.

Without a word, the messenger went in first, followed closely by Karl.

After passing through the spiral staircase, the two arrived at the end of the road—a smaller stone chamber.

In the center of the stone chamber, the magic array was emitting an eerie light. The messenger strode out, walked to the magic array, and knelt on one knee.

Karl followed suit and knelt before the magic circle as well.

"My lord, your faithful servant, Cassian, requests an audience."

Cassian spoke, his tone full of respect.

Karl chimed in, "My lord, your faithful servant, Karl Booth, requests an audience."

Unlike last time, the resonance of the magic circle was much stronger this time.

As the two knelt down, the magic circle on the stone chamber floor gradually lit up.

The dark red veins pulsated like blood vessels, and although the light was not dazzling, it made the air feel even colder.

A blurry phantom appeared at the center of the magic circle. It wasn't a complete human figure, but rather a dark halo whose outline was constantly changing.

A voice resounded directly in their minds, dry and flat, like the rubbing of withered leaves:

"explain……"

"The attempt on Grayrock Town... has failed again..."

Cassian's voice choked up, as if the matter was too embarrassing to discuss.

"..."

There was no response from the other party, and the air seemed to grow even colder, with a deathly silence surrounding them, which made the two of them even more uneasy.

"Details...of...the...situation..." the voice came again, intermittently.

Cassian, head bowed, reported to the commander in a metallic, scraping voice:

"Lord Lynn Cole of Grayrock Town has acquired a new type of weapon that emits magic resembling fire, yet without any magical fluctuations. There are two types: one is a long-barreled weapon that fires lead pellets from a hundred paces away, capable of penetrating leather armor; the other is a canister-sized projectile that explodes upon impact, with power approaching that of a mid-level fireball. Gavin Hossman has been captured, and Ironstone Fortress has fallen. We have lost two 'Shadowservants.'"

Cassian reported the battle situation truthfully.

Unlike last time when he underestimated his enemy, this time Gavin came out with all his forces, along with the troops sent by Karl, two Shadow Servants sent by the Order, and himself, the "Shadow Walker".

As a result, not only did they fail to capture Grayrock Town, but the other two members of the Order, besides himself, were also left behind.

This puzzled Cassian greatly; he couldn't understand why he couldn't take over this small gray rock town.

The dark light flickered, as if somewhat unexpected.

"Your...opinions..."

"Perhaps it's because of the 'brand' that Lynn acquired some ancient knowledge that didn't originally belong to him," the envoy paused before speaking.

Upon hearing the word "brand," the outline of the light swayed noticeably for a moment, but it did not reply.

Karl knelt to the side, keeping his head bowed.

The next moment, he could feel that invisible gaze sweeping over him.

"Karl..."

"Your subordinate is here," Karl replied immediately.

"Your... judgment on this..."

He didn't quite understand the terms "brand" used by the messenger and the light orb that appeared to be a high-ranking member of the cult; he could only analyze the current situation.

Carl swallowed hard, organizing his thoughts:

"Lynn Cole currently controls two territories, and once he fully controls Ironstone Fortress, the population may exceed 1000. If he continues to develop these weapons, the military force he will need next time will far exceed that of this time. He also has Earl Lehman as a trading partner, ensuring smooth supply lines. I believe that we should organize a more thorough operation as soon as possible to eliminate him before he becomes fully powerful."

The light from the magic circle flickered a few more times, as if it were contemplating.

"Don't touch him for now..." the voice finally said.

Karl was taken aback, looked up, and stared at the illusory ball of light.

"Why...why?"

"Two... reasons..." The voice was flat and emotionless.

"First, the priority has been adjusted. The Hearth Family of the Dwarves has confirmed the news, and their final area of ​​operation has been locked on Bronzebeard Pass. The Dwarves' defenses are weak there, and the Dwarves are not closely connected, making it easier to strike." (ps: To prevent readers from getting tired of reading or suspecting that the word count is being padded, the ellipsis is omitted here.)

Cassian's armor twitched slightly, but he remained silent.

"Secondly, our recent activity in the southern border of the Dawn Empire has drawn the attention of the Grand Duke of the Southern Border. Furthermore, to create a sufficient monster tide, we released an excessive amount of Blood Powder around Grayrock Town. This large-scale monster anomaly has already attracted the attention of the Imperial Purifying Knights. If we were to launch another attack on Cole, the required number of monsters would be even greater, posing a significant risk of exposure. Before Charles VI is 'corrupted,' we must not attract the full attention of the Dawn Empire's core military forces."

Charles VI...King of the Dawn Empire...

Karl didn't understand what corrosion meant; at his level, he wasn't authorized to know too much.

But he had a vague feeling that the cult was planning something big.

He then thought of those knights in silver-gray armor with sun-etched emblems on their chests.

The Purifying Knights are directly under the command of the royal capital and specialize in handling abnormal events related to monsters.

They were few in number, but each of them was an elite force and had the authority to mobilize local troops.

Carl was silent for a few seconds. He could understand the reasons, but the thought of Lynn Cole growing stronger beside him still made him uneasy.

"Then... what should my subordinates do next? Let him consolidate Ironforge?"

"Create trouble, slow down development, but avoid large-scale military force," the voice said. "Corruption takes time. Once everything is ready, we can deal with the Cole family."

"Cassian stays; he needs initial treatment." The phantom began to thin. "Karl, you can leave now."

As soon as the words were spoken, the light of the magic circle quickly dimmed, the illusory image disappeared, and the stone chamber returned to darkness.

The messenger slowly stood up, his armor creaking softly.

He walked to a corner of the stone chamber, where there was an inconspicuous stone trough filled with a dark purple, viscous liquid.

He removed his breastplate and arm guards, revealing the pale skin covered in black lines, and then immersed his injured left arm in the liquid.

The liquid immediately churned, producing fine bubbles. The messenger let out a suppressed groan, his eyes flashing intensely red.

Karl didn't look any further. He got up and walked towards the exit of the stone chamber.